Mystery Skulls Investigate Gravity Falls
by Lapis Rune
Summary: The Mystery Skulls crew discuss the events of that night after encountering Lewis' ghost. Dipper discovers new symbols on the Cipher Wheel. Bill decides to use this opportunity to obtain what he wants. A cross-over with Mystery Skulls Animated - Ghost (look it up on youtube, otherwise this story won't make much sense lol)
1. Setting Up the Pieces

**A/N:** So I discovered the Mystery Skulls - Ghost and completely fell in love with the song, the characters, the story, and the animation! My brain likes to take my current interests and throw them in a pit together and this idea was too good to just let it stew in my head! This is my first multi-chaptered fanfiction. Also this is currently unbeta-d. I'm pretty good with spelling and grammar, but let me know if you spot anything. Comments and critiques are much loved. Buy gold, bye!

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><p>Bill Cipher felt something. Something strange that doesn't normally happen. A shift in something, a disturbance, he wans't exactly sure what, another rare occurrence for him. The atmosphere? The world? The physics? All close but not quite... He would have to investigate closer, suspecting that it might be that bothersome Pine Tree with Journal number Three, meddling in things he shouldn't, yet again. The Dream Demon vanished from the Dreamscape in a flash of blinding white light to check on the Mystery Shack and the twin boy...<p>

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><p>"Wh-what the hell was that?!" Vivi sat in the passenger seat of the Mystery Skulls van for a little over five minutes while Arthur floored it, trying to put as much distance between them and that haunted mansion. Mystery sat in the back, eyes widened at the dirt path as it flew past.<p>

Arthur flicked his eyes at Vivi briefly, then back to the road. He was sweating and still shaking from the whole ordeal. As soon as he saw Lewis, saw the pulsating locket, he knew the truth had to come out now. Keeping that night a secret from Vivi hurt him inside, every time he looked at her. She didn't remember what happened, thanks to Lewis, he guessed.

She jostled the ginger and the van swerved of the road a little, obviously enraged. "Don't just sit there, answer me! What happened?! What are you hiding from me!?" The locket that purple skeleton ghost presented to her pulsated with a warm radiance. Her memory, having been wiped, started to come back to her, slowly, triggered by that warm, lovely locket. "You know something too, don't you, Mystery!?" She shouted, her anger rising with the silence.

As soon as the small dog was satisfied they were not being followed he padded to the front of the van carefully. "Vivi, calm down." He said almost pleadingly. He wished that there was any other way around this confrontation, but knew it was inevitable after their encounter with Lewis' ghost. "What do you remember?" The back of his head was throbbing slightly, a nagging feeling that wanted to stay hidden.

Vivi clenched her hands in her lap, focusing on them and somehow seeing past them at the same time. "All-all I remember is..." she started shakily, her heart aching for reasons she yet did not know, her body trembling slightly, fighting back tears. "A c-cave... Walking down a path, I thought Mystery was right behind me... lots of green fog... And... and-" she choked out a sob. Mystery placed a paw on her shoulder.

Arthur's hands tightened around the steering wheel, the knuckles of his real hand turning white. He wanted to comfort her, tell her it was a dream or something, stroke her blue hair, but he had to stay focused on the road, and to be honest he was afraid of her pushing him away, rejecting his concern for her.

"It's okay... Don't force it." Mystery spoke softly, ignoring his own thoughts, somehow knowing that it was best for whatever lay hidden back there to remain that way.

"Th-then... Lewis..." She said the name slowly, as if she wasn't sure of his name. "A scream, h-his... He fell... an-and-" Now Vivi was crying, forcing down the whimpers and bawls her body so desperately wanted to release.

And suddenly the atmosphere changed, imperceptibly icy. "But there's more to it, isn't there?" She asked, her tone shifting drastically as she remembered her previous inquiries.

The dog shared a look with Arthur, willing him to tell her the truth. It would be better for the healing process if Arthur was the one who explained what happened up there on that cliff.

Arthur locked his eyes on the road, looking at her was the last thing he wanted to do. "It was me." He said flatly, steeling his nerves. In any other circumstance he would have found a way to weasel out of the topic, to avoid conflict or confrontation. "I pushed him." He didn't want to get into the emotions he had been feeling at the time, the jealousy, the regret, not right now...

Vivi's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking in shock. Her heart hurt so much, feeling like it could take no more. She whispered a single word, barely audible over the van bouncing down the dirt road, "why?"

"I-I don't know exactly... Something came over me, possessed me... I pushed him, then Mystery... He... he tore my arm off... Saved me from the demon that tried to take over my body... He saved me... But he was too late to save..." It was difficult for him to confess all this to Vivi like this. "That's how I lost my arm... Not an accident..."

"I-I don't remember that part..." Mystery spoke up, trembling a little. "I guess I just... blacked out or something... It happens... I d-don't know..." There was a quiver in his voice, horrified to learn that he had dismembered his best friend. Arhtur had simply told him it was an accident. The ginger must have known he wasn't himself at the time...

The blue haired girl was silent for a long time. Five, ten, twenty minutes, staring at the floor. It was unnerving both Arthur and Mystery.

"Stop the van... I-I need some fresh air... I want... want to walk..." She said, trying her best to steady her voice, gulping down large breaths of air.

Arthur nodded, "sure," and the van slowly came to a stop. Vivi hopped out, closing the door behind her. "Stay here... I want... to be alone..." She didn't look at him, just staring vacantly at the door handle. The ginger nodded again, but as soon as her back was turned, he looked at Mystery with pleading eyes and the dog knew what he wanted.

Hopping out of the passenger window, Mystery followed Vivi quietly down the path, to keep an eye on her, make sure she stayed safe in the darkened forest. His tail was tucked between his legs and he was scared, nearly quaking, but right now Arthur was counting on him to look after her...

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><p>Dipper sat cross legged on his bed, notepad and pen in one hand, the Journal in the other, resting on his knee. He was humming an aweful lot and clicking his pen the way he did when he was thinking hard about mysteries. It was late at night, about eleven. Grunkle Stan didn't see the need to impose any kind of bed time or curfew on the twins, or rather found it too much of a hastle, and left them to their own devices after dinner, so long as they didn't disturb him.<p>

Mabel was swinging her legs back and forth, bopping her head to some tune she was playing inside her mind as she worked on another sweater to add to her collection. "Omomomomo omomomomomo oh yeah. This time I might just~" words and sounds would come out randomly, loud enough to hear but quiet enough to not be annoying.

The younger twin turned a page in the Journal, examining the Bill Cipher wheel, an image he had seen a hundred times, trying to figure out what the wheel meant. He knew the symbols represented someone in Gravity Falls, but for what purpose? He had figured out all of the obvious ones, him being the pine tree, Mabel the shooting star, etc. but who were the rest...?

"Hang on...!' He said a little too loudly, causing Mabel to look up at him sharply, accidentally pricking herself with the needle she was working with. "Ow! What? What is it?" She asked, setting her project to the side.

Mabel peered over Dipper's shoulder at the Journal page while sucking on her finger. "Did you figure something out?"

Dipper shook his head furiously. "Look!" He tapped his pen, retracted, at the page. He wouldn't dare make a single mark on the Journal, not until he'd learned what it all means. "I didn't draw those! They just showed up on their own. Earlier today it was exactly the same as it was before but now there's new symbols!"

Mabel looked closer at the symbols wedged in between the familiar ones. What looked like a scarf between the shooting star and the llama, a broken heart above the stitched one and below the pair of glasses, and another hand, this one with normal amount of fingers but had lines where the joints would be, between Dipper's pine tree and what Dipper suspected to be the symbol on Grunkle Stan's fez.

"Weeeeeiiiiiiiird..." She said slowly...


	2. Promises and Lies

**A/N: **To be honest I don't know exactly where this will be going. I just started with a vague, loose idea and decided to roll with it! But I actually like doing it this way better. Let's unravel this mystery together! Again comments and critiques are extremely appreciated. And remember folks, we put the FUN in 'No Refunds!'

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><p>The night air was cool and felt good on Vivi's face, helping her to hold back the tears. Looking up she noticed how bright the stars were through the filter of the pine tree branches. Right now all she wanted was to be away from Arthur and the Mystery Skulls van. That and maybe a plate of hot, crispy fries. And a chocolate raspberry milkshake. With a side of mozzarella sticks...<p>

She didn't notice Mystery padding behind her silently, always keeping a few trunks between them. Something felt a little off about this forest to him, but he couldn't specify what it was exactly, kind of like that cave they had explored oh so long ago...

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><p>"What does it mean?" Mabel asked as she pushed her head further between Dipper and the book to examine it closer.<p>

Dipper pushed her back a little. "Mabel, please, a little space? Thank you." "Sorry bro." Dipper sketched out the new symbols onto his notepad, thinking of anyone they could possibly be. "I don't know. All I know is that each one corresponds to somebody here in Gravity Falls. A key person, or at least as far as Bill is concerned. They could be a new threat, or possibly a new ally. I just don't know..."

Mabel grinned at her twin and poked his nose, going 'bwoop' before crossing the room to crawl into her bed, pushing her unfinished sweater onto the floor. "You'll figure it out. You're the smart one. The sweaty, awkward, funny sounding smart one," she said and giggled. "Don't stay up too late. Night night." And with that she turned off her lamp and rolled over towards the wall, pulling the blankets close to her chin.

Downstairs Stan locked the front and back door, listening carefully for any noises from the attic. He had heard Dipper not too long ago, but all seemed quiet now. He retired to his bedroom, setting his glasses on the nightstand.

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><p>A thin fog began to snake around Vivi's legs as she tread along a worn down dirt trail. Her thoughts were all over the place, from the haunted mansion to her friends' confessions to her own memories, trickling through like a leaky faucet.<p>

With her mind preoccupied she didn't notice the subtle change in atmosphere, the stars losing their twinkle and their light, the cool blues, blacks, and greens of the forest at night turning to stale, empty shades of grey. A harsh yellow glow caused her to stop in her tracks and look up, thinking it was just another person taking a night time stroll.

"Hey, Scarfy! Whatcha doin' out here? All alone? At night?" Bill Cipher hovered just slightly above Vivi, this time not wanting to scare anyone or mess with people for amusement. He had plans, and he could use her to get what he needed.

The sudden appearance of the triangle demon startled Vivi and she reflectively jumped backwards a couple of steps. Looking around, she finally noticed the effects of her surroundings. "Wh-what's going on?" She asked, looking up at Bill, confused. In normal circumstances she probably would have enjoyed a strange encounter or spooky apparition, but not tonight. Not right now. She had let her guard down too much.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, kid. Name's Bill, Bill Cipher!" The Dream Demon tipped his hat. "And you're Scarfy, otherwise known as Vivi, am I right?" He asked cheerfully, trying to be friendly.

Vivi nodded slowly. "Th-that's right... How did you?"

"I know lots of things. I'm kind of all-knowing, you know. And I know something's got you feeling blue, Blue." Bill chuckled at his own (pretty lame he had to admit) joke. He floated down to Vivi's eye level, attempting to portray kindness and concern, a little tricky for a being who only had one eye and no mouth. "I can help."

Vivi's eyes widened a little, her mind telling her this was a bad situation altogether, but her heart thrumming with curiosity and a touch of longing. "... How...?" She asked slowly.

Bill leaned back, delighted that the girl took the bait. "Your boyfriend, I can bring him back for you. In exchange for a favor of course." He said, straightening his bow tie. "I'm a pretty powerful spirit after all."

Now Vivi knew everything sounded too good to be true. She had done lots of research on creatures like these, and nothing ever turned out quite as one expected, on most occasions. She looked at him apprehensively. "Prove it..."

"C'mon, that's an easy one, Scarf." Bill twirled his cane in a circle, and in it's wake a skeleton in a black suit materialized. Another twirl and organs, muscles, and veins appeared. One more twirl and there he was, in the flesh, real and alive. Lewis looked at Vivi, bewildered and stunned. She reached out to him, almost touched his chest, but with a snap of Bill's fingers he sent him away with a slight 'pop'.

"Ah ah ah." He waggled his finger at her. "First things first, I need you to do something for me, then you get your dead boyfriend back."

Vivi put a finger on her chin, her mind thinking fast. In most cases such spirits had contracts, ones with loads of loopholes to tip it in their favor, regardless of the outcome. Granted not every situation was the same and there were some good spirits, but she didn't want to take her chances. "What do you want?" She asked, her eyebrows creasing.

Bill 'smiled' gleefully. "Nothing big, just a book. Some kid stole it from me, won't give it back."

Again Vivi's unease nagged at the back of her head, but this may be the only chance she would probably ever have. She had to play her cards just right. "How can I trust you?"

At this rate Bill was willing to do anything to get his hands on those journals, even if it meant playing nice for a change. As long as he got what he wanted, he didn't care. "No problem. I'll just whip up a contract, legally binding. I'm just a simple, humble spirit after all. There are forces higher than myself, and they love these kind of things."

The blue haired girl smiled inwardly. This was right in her field. "My friends and I, henceforth known as Party A," as she spoke, a scroll of parchment paper appeared, floating between her and Bill, words scrawling across it in blue ink, matching her word for word, "will do everything in our power, excluding fatalities, torture, and violence of any nature, to retrieve and return your book. In exchange, you, Bill Cipher, henceforth known as Party B, will return Party A's companion and fellow Mystery Skulls teammate, Lewis, to the world of the living, whole, complete, and of sound mind and sound body. Should Party B lose, misplace, or have stolen from him again the object in question, Party A will not be held liable for the action unless directly involved of their own accord and decision, and will keep their companion, in the same condition as he was returned to them by Party B. Good enough?" She asked, hiding a smile at her own cleverness.

"Huh, not much wiggle room there." He mumbled under his breath, tapping the area wher his chin would have been. But the sooner he got that Journal out of Pine Trees hands and into his own, the better for him.

"Yeah, sure , whatever, kid. Deal." Pointing his finger at the contract, a bolt of yellow light shot out and the Dream Demon's name appeared on the contract in yellow ink. "Now you sign."

Vivi paused a moment. "D-does this have to be signed in blood, or what?" She asked, a little hesitant.

"Blood? Haha, no. Demons in particular only say that because human suffering and the smell of blood amuses u-I mean, them." Bill chuckled nervously. "Anyway, all you have to do is touch your finger to the paper and it's imprint your unique aura onto it, like mine."

Vivi glanced at Bill, then the contract. "I don't want to take my chances." She fished a pen from her pocket and pulled the clip off, forming a sharper edge. "Whatever floats your fancy, I guess." Bill muttered, shrugging. She took the clip and jammed it into her index finger. It hurt of course, but after a little digging, she got a large enough droplet of blood to form and pressed it against the contract.

"Thank you so much, Bill. It's not that I don't trust you or anything. I just really don't want to take my chances..." Vivi looked up at the Dream Demon, her eyes shining with honesty and hope.

Bill recoiled a little. "Yeesh, Scarf, don't get all... emotion-y now."

"A couple of questions, though; if you're such a capable spirit, why can't you get the book back yourself, what does the book look like, and how can I contact you once I have it in my possession?" She asked, hands crossed in front of her.

"Oh, spirit laws and what-not." Bill said casually as he examined his fingernails. If he even had finger nails. "We, my kind anyway, can't physically or personally interfere with mortals. Not unless there's a 'deal' involved. Plus I think he put some sort of spell on it, hiding it from my Sight, y'know? You'll know the book when you see it, Pine Tree, er, Dipper Pines is always toting it around, and I'll know as soon as you have it. I can even help out a little, you know, buy you some time! Good luck, Scarf! Don't tell anyone about me or the deal or our contract is null and void! Ta for now!" Bill Cipher vanished in a brilliant flash of light, taking with him the unnaturally static, grey scale atmosphere with him.

"That ankh wearing anthropomorphic personification of death won't be happy about this, as hot and perky as she is. Oh well, she'll get over it, she always does..."

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><p>Just after midnight Grunkle Stan awoke to an urgent pounding on the front door. "Ugh, what now!" He muttered angrily as he threw the covers off, sitting up and sliding his slippers onto his feet. He climbed down the creaky old staircase, flipping on the foyer light as he passed the switch. He could hear Dipper and Mabel right behind him, woken up by the furious knocks still persistent in getting someone's attention.<p>

"What?! What is it?!" Stan threw the door open. He had a bat clenched in one hand, ready to clobber any intruders.

On the porch he saw a frightened and concerned looking young man with light orange hair, carrying a girl clad in blue on his back who looked unconscious, and a white dog with... glasses? All three of the figures were wet and dripping on the porch due to a flash rainstorm...


	3. In for a Long Night

Arthur shifted Vivi, feeling her slipping down his back. "I-I- she- please! I don-" He stammered, trying to get over his shock, the words seeming to stick in his throat.

Grunkle Stan narrowed his eyes at the lanky man, sizing him up. Coming to a decision, he stepped aside to allow the three strangers in, leaning the bat against the wall next to the door. "Follow me," he instructed and led them through the gift shop to Soos' break room, Mabel and Dipper in tow, both of them looking at Mystery then quizzically at each other. Dipper shrugged. "Put her on the floor."

Arthur did as he was told, Mystery shaking himself dry by the door. The ginger watched anxiously, feeling his hands and feet twitch with nervous activity. He wanted to pace, to run, to do something, but focused on Vivi. The old man removed her scarf and checked her pulse and breathing before rolling her over into the recovery position.

"What happened?" he asked, a hint of agitation present in his gravelly voice.

"W-well... We were driving, an-and she wanted to stop for a walk and fresh air, t-to be alone- we had a very stressful night- so I asked Mystery, my dog, to make sure sh-she was alright... Maybe a half hour p-passed, maybe more, I don't know... it s-started to rain... But Mystery came back, w-without Vivi... I followed him back an-and found her passed out on the trail, carried her back to our v-van and drove on, t-to find help... That's when we spotted a l-light from your, er, cabin, and-" Arthur spoke fast, stuttering and gesturing, about ready to go into a full on panic attack.

Dipper looked at the ginger, bewildered. "A walk? In these woods? Alone? At night? Are you crazy?! Do you know what kind of things lurk around these parts?! Dangerous things! Dangerous things that could attack and eat you! No wonder she fell unconscious! Something probably came out of the shadows, looking for a-"

"Sit down, take a deep breath. Dipper, get some water!" Stan ordered, frowning at his nephew. Dipper paused, then slowly nodded and scurried out to the kitchen. Arthur slumped onto the couch, running his real hand through his wet hair. Mabel sat on her knees and held out a hand to Mystery, who was sitting now.

"Does she have a history with this kinda thing? I dunno, low blood sugar or pressure, lack of sleep or liquids, or something?" He brushed the hair away from her forehead, her skin like ice. He tugged the blanket off of the couch and wrapped it around her.

Dipper returned and handed the glass to Arthur. He smiled his thanks before shaking his head, "n-no, not that I can think of... We've known each other since we were kids an-and this is the first time..."

Grunkle Stan grunted and stood up. "Well there's not much else we can do right now. Sorry kid."

Dipper frowned, a little perplexed as to why their great uncle was being so... nice... Mabel moved to stand next to Dipper after Mystery refused to be petted and trotted over to Arthur's legs. She mumbled, "who knew Grunkle Stan knows this kinda stuff?"

"I know, and what's with him being uncharacteristically kind? It's weird..." Dipper replied, keeping his voice down so Grunkle Stan wouldn't overhear them.

Mystery's ears perked up, his tail wagging furiously as Vivi finally came to, sitting up and rubbing her head. "Whuh? What happened, where am I?"

"Vivi! You're alright!" Arthur shouted gleefully and slid to the floor to throw his arms around her. "I was so worried! Wh-when Mystery came back, and then the rain-"

Vivi pushed Arthur off playfully. "Okay, you goof, calm down. I'm okay." She scratched Mystery behind his ears. "Where's my scarf?"

Grunkle Stan tossed it to the young woman. "Here. She's fine, now leave so I can get back to bed. Make sure she gets somethin' to eat."

The ginger helped Vivi stand up. "Thanks," he said, "I owe you one, man." The three of them made their way to the door, Vivi looking back at them, noticing Dipper's hat. Her eyes widened slightly; this could not be a coincidence.

The rain was falling harder and ever now, creating a large, lake-sized puddle between the Mystery Shack and their van in the parking lot. As soon as they reached the door, a deafening crack of thunder rang through the sky, followed quickly by a bright fork of lightening. Arthur and Mystery yelped and shot back away from the door, tripping over each other and tumbled backwards, landing on their rears.

"What? What'sa matter, scared of a bit of weather?" Grunkle Stan asked, laughing with his hands on his hips.

"Y-yes!" Arthur squeaked back, his voice cracking. He was noticeably shaking. Vivi rolled her eyes.

"Ahahahaha! Dipper, I think we found someone who's even more of a wuss than you!" Stan said, much to the younger twin's annoyance.

Vivi adjusted her glasses and gave Arthur an arm up. "On second thought, Mr...?" Her voice trailed off, realizing she was never really introduced to these people.

Grunkle Stan frowned, knowing where this was going. "Stan Pines, and no, no crashing here. What does this look like, a shelter?"

The twins exchanged a look that seemed to say to each other, 'so much for Grunkle Stan's nice streak.'

"Mr... Pines... Of course..." she said, more to herself. "Please, just until the storm is over. Arthur can't go outside while a storm is going on. We-we can pay." She pleaded.

Without pausing a single moment to think it over Stan said "sold! That'll be a hundred and, uh, ten- twenty... five a night, thirty for meals, and tours cost extra. You'll stay in the break room, and all we have is that couch."

Vivi sighed, giving a 'you gotta be kidding me' look, but agreed anyway. "Fine... I'll go and get our stuff from the van. Mystery, Arthur, go the the, er, break room. I'll be back." The two nodded and crawled away to the other room, wincing and jumping every time the thunder boomed outside.

As Vivi left Stan ordered his niece and nephew to bed. They complied and scaled the creaky staircase to their room in the attic, Mabel waving good night at their guests while she climbed up behind Dipper.

Dipper watched Vivi through the attic window retrieve their sleeping bags, clothes, and food from the back of their van. Something felt fishy to him about these strangers and the sudden storm. When he voiced his concerns to Mabel, she merely shrugged and said, "summer rains, you can never predict them. They seem nice, though. And that dog is adorable! Not as cute as Waddles though." She giggled and pulled the pig sleeping on her bed into a hug.

"Yeah, but still... Don't you think it's odd..."

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><p>Downstairs Vivi helped her friends get comfortable and settled down. They were used to camping around like this, and had a decent supply of food, clothes, and equipment. Under normal circumstances they would just sleep in the van, sometimes they'd make a campfire...<p>

Once she was sure Arthur was asleep she slid into her own sleeping bag on the other end of the couch, Mystery snoring away between them. The storm outside was just as bad, if not worse, and didn't sound like it was moving on anytime soon. She set her glasses on the back of the couch above her head and drifted off, her thoughts occupied by Bill Cipher and the contract, Lewis, and the Pines family. Dipper seemed like any other kid... How could he have gotten hold of a spirit's book and refuse to give it back...?


	4. The Waffle Chapter

Everything in Vivi's dream was shaded blue. A grassy, teal blue field stretched out forever under a navy blue sky, only a thin periwinkle blue dirt path cut through the field. Vivi found herself on this path, looking up at the sparkling, white blue stars. There was no moon tonight, there never was in her dreams. She felt completely alone, but comfortably so. It was peaceful. A gentle breeze blew, making the oddly colored grass ripple and rustle all around her.

But the atmosphere changed almost instantly. Where the moon should have been an eye appeared, shining a bright yellow light onto Vivi. She paused in her walk and blearily looked up, using an arm to block the harsh light.

With a small pop, Bill squeezed through the hole and descended down to Vivi's eye level, growing smaller until he reached his normal size. "I see you've made it to the Pines' house. Did you locate my book?"

Vivi looked confused for a moment, then remembered their deal. "Oh... Oh, I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"You got that right, Scarfy. I'm a dream spirit. So did you find the thief what stole my book?" He asked, batting his eye at her.

She adjusted her glasses, though slightly astonished to find that she didn't need them in her dream. "I did, though he did not have the book with him at the time. I'm going to have to find a way to stick around for a while..."

"Whatever you need." Bill laughed and circled around the blue haired girl. "I'm great at distractions and stalling things!"

A thought struck Vivi. "You. You were the one who started that storm, weren't you?" Bill tipped his hat in affirmation. "Can you temporarily rig the van? If we can't get that to work, we can't leave the Mystery Shack, right? Then I'll have more time to find that book!"

"Can do! That's a piece of cake! Oh and be careful around that kid. He's pretty dumb, but catches on quickly. Til next time, Scarf." Bill said before being sucked into himself and vanishing.

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><p>Dipper shuddered at the chill of the attic. It was very drafty and in normal weather was actually pretty nice, but the flash storm made everything cold. Mabel was tucked in and sleeping soundly, but after the night's events Dipper couldn't go back to sleep. He'd always had a slight insomnia problem. It's not that he wasn't tired, he was incredibly drowsy, but his brain was too analytic sometimes, thinking and solving problems and picking apart details almost constantly.<p>

The storm felt strange; it just came out of nowhere, no clouds building up, no warning, it just... happened. And then those guys who got caught in it. A girl who was unconscious, and looked at him funny when she finally noticed him. A guy with a robotic arm and scared of thunder and lightning in his, what early to mid twenties? Ridiculous. And a dog with some seriously funky hair? Fur? Whatever. Wearing glasses. Dipper tapped the pencil on his chin as he reviewed his notes. Something was afoot here, and it smelled faintly like Bill. He would have to be extra careful with Journal 3.

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><p>Vivi was the kind of person who couldn't sleep well in a stranger's house and always woke up at least an hour before dawn. She sat up and pulled back the curtain a little to peek outside. The rain and thunder had stopped, both the front and back yard and the parking lot were at least three inches underwater all around, if not more in some areas. It was still overcast, the clouds a dark grey, threatening to start up again any moment.<p>

She tugged her blue socks on, leaving them loose around her ankles, just so her feet wouldn't get cold on the mostly bare wooden floor of the cabin, and grabbed the box with all their food. She was glad that she pulled everything from the van last night; who knew how dry the interior was after that crazy storm. Despite Arthur working on the vehicle all the time, there were bound to be a leak or two, considering how old it was.

Placing the box on the kitchen table she found the instant waffle mix and chocolate chips and proceeded to make breakfast for everyone, including their host and his niece and nephew. Vivi only half remembered her dream last night, but knew it had Bill Cipher in it. She needed to find that book fast, before the Pines suspected anything and sent them away.

She heard footsteps coming from the creaky stairs and turned around just in time to see Dipper shuffle in, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his hat skewed at an odd angle. She chuckled to herself, knowing that look. "Did you spend all night at your desk?" She asked as she flipped the waffle iron over.

"Y-yes... How did you-" Dipper's voice squeaked and he coughed a little to clear his throat.

"How did I know you had a desk and fell asleep there? I've seen that look before. Especially during college." Vivi giggled. "I used to pull all nighters like crazy through high school and college. I like learning and reading and discovering new things."

Dipper made a non-committal hum and grabbed a Pitt Cola from the fridge before sitting at the table. By daily routines Mabel should be down in a few minutes, shortly followed by Grunkle Stan, considering it wasn't a Sunday when he usually slept in. "So who are you exactly? How did you wind up in Gravity Falls?"

"Oh, was I not introduced? Sorry, I'm Vivi. My friends, Arthur, Mystery, our dog, and I travel around the country solving crimes and paranormal mysteries. We're the Mystery Skulls." She spoke as if it wasn't a strange hobby at all.

"Huh... So, like, what kind of paranormal mysteries?" Dipper asked, his curiosity eating away at him. He had never heard of the Mystery Skulls, but if they're investigators, maybe they could help him unravel the mysteries of Gravity Falls! Maybe Bill started that storm to try to prevent them from reaching the town!

Vivi flipped the waffles in the air, checking the brownness, and caught them on a plate before sliding them in front of Dipper, along with butter and syrup. "Oh, all kinds! Ghosts, mostly, zombies, witches, the bad kinds anyway, Jersey Devils, a ton of people in masks pretending to be monsters, and you, know, stuff like that."

Before Dipper could inquire any further, Mabel showed up, her hair sticking out all over the place, followed by Waddles. "Mornin' bro." She said a little groggily. Here eyes lit up, however, as soon as Vivi placed a plateful of warm, fluffy, chocolaty waffles in front of her and some plain ones for Waddles. "Waffles? With chocolate chips?!" She hopped in a chair and dug in. "They're amazing," she whispered.

"Glad you like them." She smiled at the twins, starting on another plate for Stan. Arthur and Mystery usually slept in late when they could.

"So, about that mystery solving thing," Dipper said between bites. "Think you could, I dunno, help me with something...?"

"Oh?" Vivi looked at him, intrigued. Her mind jumped ahead, but she had to calm down and take a step back. Too easy. Sure he was just a kid, but Bill had implied that he was very clever. Clever enough to steal a book from a dream spirit and keep it hidden from him.

Mabel glanced at her twin, raising an eyebrow as she shoveled bite after bite into her mouth. Dipper raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, see, I got this, this book and..."

Arthur and Mystery stumbled in, still half asleep, the smell of Vivi's cooking waking them up and luring them into the kitchen. Vivi produced two more plates, one piled high with plain waffles for their four legged friend. She made up a plate for Stan for whenever he decided to join them, then her own towering stack.

"Ugh, going on about that stupid journal again, kid?" Grunkle Stan scratched his ass and belched a little before taking his own seat. The kitchen table had never been completely full before.

Vivi winked at Dipper. "It's okay, you can show me later. Just enjoy your waffles." Dipper nodded and swallowed another bite.

* * *

><p>Wendy raised an eyebrow at the van with the Mystery Skulls logo emblazoned on the sides. More tourists, maybe? That just meant she actually had to work today. Though they were awfully early for visitors. "Ugh. Hey Soos." She greeted the handyman as she entered the door and took up her positions behind the counter. Soos, early as usual waved.<p>

Arthur exited the kitchen to check on his van, passing the redhead and Soos. Wendy couldn't help but stare at his left arm. "Weird..." she murmured. The bell jingled, signaling his exit. As soon as the door closed again Wendy immediately turned to Soos. "What's up with that guy?"

Soos paused his sweeping. "Oh, them? They came in last night. Got caught in the storm. I think they're some sort of musical group? Or paranormal activity investigators, or something like that?"

"Huh. What's up with his arm?" Wendy asked. Soos merely shrugged and continued sweeping the shop.

* * *

><p>Dipper and Mabel were left with the dishes as Vivi and Mystery stepped outside. Mabel, who was drying, asked, "you think it's a good idea sharing that book with total strangers?"<p>

Dipper looked at her, surprised at her unusual concern. "What? Why? They could help me! They're professionals, Mabel! They've been doing this sort of thing for years!"

"Okay, if you say so... Hey, did you see that dog? He's adorable! I wonder if he and Waddles could be friends. I should totally set up a pet play date!" Mabel said, returning to normal.

Dipper laughed and shook his head.

* * *

><p>Arthur dashed around back, a panicked look on his face. "Vivi. Vivi! The van won't start! I tried everything, but, but-"<p>

"Relax, Arthur, it's probably just... wet or something... It'll be fine." Vivi replied from the back porch as Mystery ran around in the puddles, sniffing around the trees at the edge of the back yard. "Besides, I think we should stick around for a few days. Something strange is going on in this town. I can feel it."

Arthur rubbed the back of his head with his real arm. Whenever Vivi got these feelings, she was usually right, which meant ghosts or some obscure beast. Which meant Arthur and Mystery would spend a lot of their time running away from things. "I... I guess..."

Vivi could tell her best friend was tensing up already. "Don't worry. We're always fine in the end. But that boy, Dipper, said something about a book and some mysteries around here. He needs some help. We have the chance to light the flame of inspiration in these kids!"

The ginger knew he couldn't say no to Vivi when her eyes got all sparkly and passionate like that. "Well, there's no mystery the Mystery Skulls can't solve..." He said weakly.

"That's the spirit!" Vivi exclaimed and punched him in the arm. "First we'll have to talk to Stan about extending our stay, though..."


	5. Making Friends

**A/N: **So sorry for the late submission! Between travelling for the holidays, shopping, packing, moving, and working, I just haven't really found some time to work on this until now ^ ^; come this time tomorrow I'll be in my own apartment though (yay)!

* * *

><p>Stanford Pines sat behind his old, creaky desk, just like everything else in the Mystery Shack, on its last legs, counting the profits from his latest scam. It was just after four, the last group of tourists leaving, giving them a small break before the next batch rolled in. The tours were small today, considering the spell of sudden bad weather, but that was relatively common for the northwest corner of the states.<p>

A quick knock on the door disrupted his musings. "Whadya want?!" He grunted. Vivi poked her head through and looked around before crossing the threshold into Stan's office.

Vivi was used to handling the business side of the Mystery Skulls. Arthur had no head nor spine for it, and well, a talking dog is not really a common thing...

"Mr. Pines. I would like to talk to you about extending our stay at the Mystery Shack." Vivi stated as she took a seat across from the older man.

"Sure, whatever ya want, kid," Grunkle Stan said, still occupied with his counting, "so long as you have the funds for it, of course."

The blue haired investigator frowned a little. "Actually, that's precisely what I wanted to discuss with you... You see, more often then not we provide our services for free-"

"Free?!" Grunkle Stan cut her off. "What're ya, nuts?! Free's not in my vocabulary, kid, unless it's for me! Why you go and do a fool thing like that? Pah, free..."

"Our ventures are mostly for Science, Mr. Pines. We have provided so much research and discoveries for the paranormal community..." Vivi's voice got progressively louder as she defended her passion for her field.

Grunkle Stan shook his head. "Look. I've heard about you kids and you and I both know you're outcasts, misfits, cast outs. People saying you're hoaxes, fakes, calling you 'Scooby-doo' rip offs, your 'research' being laughed at. It' harsh but that's the reality of it. Idiots like the tourists we get like the gaffs and hoaxy bullshit, but researchers and scientists analyze things way too closely, to the point where it don't mean anything anymore. That's why I run a place like this."

Vivi's hands clenched the cuffs of her cyan sweatshirt, glaring at Grunkle Stan with icy fire in her narrowed eyes. Closing them and taking a deep breath, she composed herself and adjusted her glasses, remembering the reason why she was in his office. "Anyway, as I was stating before," she spoke evenly, "occasionally we receive tips for our services and only a small percentage of them are requested and paid for. So you see, our funds are pretty low and the majority of it goes to food and expenses..."

"And what exactly do you want me to do about that? No dough, no dice."

"My proposition, Mr. Pines, is to work at the Mystery Shack in exchange for room and board just until we can get our van fixed. I will still pay you for last night as we agreed. But I'm afraid we cannot provide any more than that." Vivi said, unclenching her hands.

The older man sighed, shuffling his money together and putting it away in a safe he kept in his desk. "Ugghh, fine. Not like there's much else that can be done about it..." He grumbled audibly. "Grab a broom and rag and start cleaning. Tell ginger to cover the counter while Wendy takes her break."

"Thank you, Stan, this means a lot to us, to me. I mean it." Vivi said before she left, her mind only focused on the task the dream spirit had given her.

* * *

><p>"You're staring..." Arthur said, a little annoyed. He was sitting behind the counter, his head propped up by his left hand, his eyes gazing into space with boredom.<p>

"Not I'm not." Wendy and Dipper spoke in unison, the younger twin shaking his head.

Arthur sighed loudly, shifting to lean back in his seat. "Look, if you're gonna say something then say it, don't just ogle..."

Wendy wandered over to get a closer look. "Dude, what happened? Can I touch it?" She asked, obviously braver than the brunette standing just behind her. Dipper was fidgeting nervously but just as curious as Wendy.

The male ginger rolled his eyes and held out his robotic arm for her to examine it. "It was an accident, okay? Just a- ... a spelunking mishap..." He faltered over the words, looking down and away from them. What happened in the cave still weighed heavy in his heart, and he didn't, couldn't divulge the truth to strangers who wouldn't understand.

"It's so cool. Figuratively and literally. Pretty advanced too, for robotics." Wendy commented, bending it at the wrist and testing the joints of his index finger.

Dipper looked from the metal prosthetic to Wendy. "You-you know about robotic engineering?" He asked, a little surprised.

"I dabble." Wendy commented coolly, taking a sip of her Pitt Cola.

* * *

><p>While her teammate and friend watched the front of the store, Vivi was busy helping Soos with various tasks around the Mystery Shack. Though actually fixing things was more Arthur's field of expertise, she had no problems with cleaning up the place. She had to be patient with Dipper, wait for him to come to her, otherwise he will get scared off, grow suspicious.<p>

She opened up a closet, intending to clean it out, but got a slight jolt as Mabel and Waddles tumbled out.

"Hey Vivi! Have a thing!" Mabel giggled and held up an empty shoebox. "It's full of faaaiiiry faaaarts~" she whispered dramatically.

"Oooookaaaaay..." The older girl looked confused but accepted the box anyway.

Mabel rolled over and stood up, straightening her skirt and sweater, her long brown hair sticking out all over the place. "So your dog, Mystery, is he friendly? I mean, he wouldn't try to eat Waddles or anything, would he?" she asked as sh righted the small pig.

"What? No of course not. If anything Mystery is more afraid Waddles will eat him." She laughed.

"Excellent. Thanks!" The older twin picked up Waddles and rushed off to find their canine guest.


	6. Coming Together

Mystery was still outside, a little ways into the first line of trees. Something kept nagging in the back of his head and he needed to figure out what it was. It was something about this Mystery Shack, the forest, the town. Ever since he followed Vivi out of the van it had been there, just beyond his grasp. He was so focused on trying to sniff up some sort of hint he didn't hear anyone approaching.

"Hey Mystery!" Mabel shouted, effectively causing the small dog to yelp and jump. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, heheh." She said, stretching a hand out to comfort him. "I just wanted you to meet Waddles. You two should be friends." She gestured to the pig, who was rolling around in the mud, grunting in delight.

Mystery raised his eyebrows, a little confused, backing away from the older twin and into a tree, which caused him to jump again. He looked around for Vivi or Arthur, both of which were nowhere in sight. The girl just kept smiling at him, leaning a little closer. "C'mon, it's okay. I won't hurt you."

"I-I... Uh... woof?" Mystery winced, briefly forgetting to not speak in front of other people. The majority of the time he was only around Vivi and Arthur, only rarely having to deal with other humans, opting to wait in the van for them while they deal with other humans.

Mabel's eyes widened. "Did you just... talk?" She asked, fascinated.

"No- I mean- ah- woof?" Mystery's ears and tail lowered, afraid of what this girl might do next.

"That's so neat! You know, Waddles could speak once, but then he chose my happiness over intelligence and became a simple pig again. Trust me, a talking dog is way more normal than a lot of the things my brother and I have come across around here. I'm not gonna hurt you. And if you want me to, I'll keep your secret okay?"

Mystery calmed down a little, becoming less tense. He liked this girl, she seemed nice, like Vivi. "O-okay..." he nodded and allowed her to pet him.

"Your fur is so soft." She giggled. "What're you doing out here at the edge of the woods anyway? There's all kinds of weird and dangerous things in there."

The white dog jumped and hid behind Mabel, peering into the woods with wide eyes. "I-I... I feel something strange here... What's with this town?" He asked.

"Psh. That's just Gravity Falls. Bizarre things happen a lot. A bunch of gnomes proposed to me, I met a merman, Dipper got possessed, we traveled to the past and the future, fought a horde of zombies, excorsized some ghosts, fell into a bottomless pit for a while, that was fun, broke up with a magic wielding psycho psychic, trick-or-treated to pacify an enraged candy monster..." She said, ticking them off on her fingers, "and a whole slew of other crazy stuff. There's so much stuff going on in Gravity Falls that three, maybe more, books were written about them."

"O-oh...?" Mystery edged away from the forest, suddenly keen to get back to Vivi.

"Haha, c'mon, let's go see if we can find you a treat. C'mon Waddles!" Mabel called out. Waddles' ears perked up and he trotted to her side, now covered in mud and quite a few blades of grass.

* * *

><p>Soon Vivi was done helping Soos clean up the hallway, which was so dusty it prompted an immediate change of clothes. "I'm gonna grab something to drink and take a quick break, okay?" She asked.<p>

"Oh sure, no problem. Help yourself to the cola, Stan lets me have some all the time." Soos replied, tightening a screw on the closet door.

"After my break, what's the next task?"

"Hmm..." The handyman paused for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Uhhh, I think you're all good for the day, dude. There's not much left to do, actually."

Vivi nodded. "Maybe I'll help Dipper out with solving some of these mysteries he's mentioned to me." She mused as she left.

* * *

><p>"So can your arm, like, detach and like, crawl around to unlock doors and stuff? Oh! Does it have attachments? Like a Swiss army knife or something?" Wendy asked from behind the counter.<p>

"Can it shoot laser beams or bullets or something?" Dipper chimed in.

"Ooh! Can you transform it into stuff? Like a mini car or spybot or whatever?"

Arthur was kneeling on the floor, toolkit next to him, working on a busted coin operated gold panner. He rolled his eyes and sighed audibly. "My arm is a tool, and, you know, my arm. It's not a toy or some mad scientist death machine." Oil was leaking everywhere, but he was used to that.

"Pfff lame. If I had a cool cyber arm like that, I'd trick it out with all sorts of gadgets." Wendy said.

"All those gadgets would be impractical. You have to consider weight, power supply, bulkiness, and functionality. If it has all that extra shit I might as well just build a separate machine altogether. It'd be too heavy, and not to mention the kind of battery it would need!" The ginger replied, wiping grease from his face, only managing to smear it around.

Dipper nodded. "I see your point."

"Regardless, mine'd be way cooler. At least have a rad paint job or something." Wendy retorted as she straightened the page of her magazine, Selfies Weekly.

Arthur just rolled his eyes again and focused on the task at hand. He had found the coin machine tucked in the corner, mostly in pieces, and decided it would be a nice project to work on for Stan. Nobody keeps junk like that around unless it meant something to them.

"Hey Dipper, I'm all done with cleaning for now." Vivi called from the hallway. "Maybe we can look over your journal together?"

"Great!" Dipper jumped up. "Let me go get it!" He raced upstairs.

While she was waiting for Dipper Vivi wandered over to Arthur, tinkering away as usual. At least he remembered to put a tarp down this time. "What's this?" She snickered.

"It's one of those coin thingies. Like, you put a penny or whatever into it and it flattens it and comes out with a little picture on it or something. I'm assuming anyway. Thought Stan'd appreciate it being fixed." Arthur replied.

Dipper returned. "Let's go outside." Vivi nodded and follower the younger boy out to the porch. She glanced around for Mystery but didn't see him. He and Mabel were probably playing somewhere, but she didn't mind.

"So what have we got?" She asked, sitting next to him on the couch.

Dipper's eyes shone with excitement. "All kinds of crazy, paranormal things! Gravity Falls is like a hot spot for monsters, ghosts, creatures, anomalies, and things like that. My sister and I have been discovering and fighting these things since we first got here. I brought a video game character into the real world, got shrunk and grew with some magic crystals, trained with a herd of manotaurs, had to fight a bunch of clones of myself, went inside Grunkle Stan's dream, took down a giant robot, chased a pterodactyl, haunted wax museum figures that came to life at night. All kinds!" As he was speaking he shuffled through the journal, pointing out specific things on the pages.

"Hmmm..." Vivi brought her hand to her chin. "It kind of sounds like Gravity Falls attracts these kinds of things to it, like a vortex... like, gravity... Where did you get this book anyway?" She asked.

"When I first got here I went to explore the woods. I found a tree made of metal with a hidden panel. Inside was a little lever. I pulled it, and it opened a secret compartment in the ground where this journal was. It's helped me out a lot with the things in Gravity Falls. It's also gotten my sister and I into a lot of trouble too, heheh..."

Vivi could feel something wasn't adding up. She didn't think Dipper would lie to her, but she didn't want to believe that Bill was deceiving her either... Maybe it was just a big misunderstanding...? "Hey, what's that?" She asked, stopping him on the page with the Bill Cipher wheel.

"Oh. That's Bill Cipher." Dipper spoke, a slight angered tone in his voice. "He's a dream demon and for some reason wants to get his hands on this book. He lies and cheats to get his way, and can be really persuasive and charismatic. Don't trust him."

Vivi's heart sank. So Bill was lying to her after all... If he showed up in her dream tonight, she'd confront him about this. But she wanted Lewis back so badly... For now, this didn't change anything...

"Hang on..." Dipper said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "The scarf, the hand... Each one of these symbols represents someone in Gravity Falls. I'm the Pine Tree, Soos is the Question Mark, Mabel's the Shooting Star..." Dipper explained, "these three symbols appeared last night, about an hour before you guys showed up. You! You must be the Scarf, Arthur's the mechanical hand, so who... Who's the broken heart?" He asked, looking up at the blue haired girl.

"I... I don't know..." Vivi replied, not exactly sure why she lied. She looked away, adjusting her glasses.

Dipper looked at the book, a little disappointed. "Oh... I think this means that Bill knows you're here... You guys must have something to do with what's going on around here. You can help me solve this mystery!"


End file.
